Also known by their nicknames, The Phils, The Fightin' Phils or The Fightin's; the Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is currently the only major league franchise operating there. Having the distinction of being the oldest continuous one-name, one-city franchise in all of American professional sports, they have played in the Eastern Division of the National League since 1969.
In spite of claiming 31 Hall of Famers, the Philadelphia Phillies have the inglorious mark as the most losing franchise of any US major sports league (9,956) and is expected to become the first professional franchise to reach 10,000 losses soon.
Alfred Reach and Colonel John Rogers purchased the Worcester Brown Stockings of the National League in 1883 and by the 1890s, the newly renamed "Phillies" had solid records of 70 or more wins. Their first pennant was won in 1915 in their 33rd season due to a bullpen boost led by star pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander.
A few remarkable players namely outfielder Cy Williams and Chuck Klein impressed all during the 20s and 30s winning NL Home Run Crowns and the NL Triple Crown, respectively.
During the 1940s, their name was changed to the Blue Jays but was reverted back later. Backup catcher Sal Fasano’s trade to the New York Yankees for minor league infielder Hector Made and third baseman David Bell’s trade to the Milwaukee Brewers for minor league pitcher Wilfrido Laureano were a few important changes and they responded well. They acquired Freddy Garcia from the Chicago White Sox for minor league pitchers Gavin Floyd (AAA in 2006) and Gio Gonzalez (AA in 2006) on Dec. 6, 2006. Wes Helms was also acquired as a free agent.
With a record of 66-65, The Philadelphia Phillies were trailing the San Diego Padres by a mere .5 games for the lead in the wild card race. Since they had captured and lost the wild card lead, they were tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers. With identical 82-74 records, both teams went on the road for the final six games; the Philadelphia Phillies to Washington and Florida, the Dodgers to Colorado and San Francisco. But the Philadelphia Phillies were later eliminated from playoff contention at two games out with one left to play.
The 2007 season will begin with a home opener on April 2nd against the Atlanta Braves and The Philadelphia Phillies intend to move their AAA affiliate to nearby Allentown, Pennsylvania in April 2008 where they will play with Lehigh Valley IronPigs, in a newly-constructed stadium, Lehigh County Ballpark, a 7,000-capacity stadium. This will bring the Phillies' AAA affiliate closer to the team's Philadelphia fan base while also moving the team into a new stadium.
With red and white being the team colors, their home uniform is white with red pinstripes and the road uniform is grey, both bear the script-lettered "Philadelphia Phillies" with stars dotting the "i"s across the chest, with the player name and number on the back. A single stylized "P" decorates the red hats.
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